One plant, two symptoms, three possible causes. If you've ever stared at a sad houseplant and guessed, you're in good company — most plant advice online is a guessing game. Let me give you a diagnostic order that actually works, so you fix the cause instead of the symptom.
Yellow leaves = watering stress. Read which way.
- Fat, yellow bottom leaves + damp soil = overwatering. The roots are suffocating. Let the soil dry out significantly before the next water.
- Thin, crispy yellow leaves + bone-dry soil = underwatering. Water thoroughly, then keep a steady rhythm.
- Yellow on new growth = rarer and more serious — usually root rot or pests. Act fast.
Brown, crispy tips = humidity, salts, or heat.
On otherwise healthy leaves, brown tips come from three places in order of likelihood:
- Low humidity — group plants together or add a pebble tray with water.
- Tap-water salts — minerals build up in the soil over months. Flush the pot with a few thorough waterings.
- Too close to a heater/vent — move the plant; airflow damage looks exactly like this.
The "water it" reflex kills more plants than neglect. Before you water any yellow-leafed plant, push a finger two knuckles into the soil. Damp? The problem is too much water — back off. Bone dry? Then water deeply. Most yellow-leaf deaths are drownings.
One yellow leaf is normal. If it's a single older leaf and the rest of the plant looks healthy, it's just the plant retiring an old leaf. Panic starts only when several leaves change at once or new growth is affected.
I put this same decision tree, plus per-plant watering/light/humidity/soil guidance for 51 common houseplants, at https://everleaf-taupe.vercel.app. The full version of this guide lives here: https://everleaf-taupe.vercel.app/blog/why-your-plant-leaves-turn-yellow
Short version: check the soil, read which leaves changed, and let the plant talk before you react. It almost always tells you exactly what's wrong.
